World News Briefs; Both Afghan Factions Claim Victory in North

Fighting raged between the Taliban religious militia and an opposition alliance clinging to a dwindling area of northern Afghanistan, with both sides claiming victory today.

Abdullah, a spokesman for Ahmed Shah Masood, leader of the anti-Taliban alliance, said his forces killed 100 Taliban fighters and recaptured territory near the key northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. He also asserted that his alliance had taken the strategic town of Borka to the south. He did not mention alliance casualties.

But Taliban radio reported later that its soldiers had prevailed. Independent confirmation was not available. If true, the capture of Borka, 120 miles southeast of Mazar-i-Sharif, would relieve pressure on Mr. Masood's stronghold in the Panjshir Valley, just north of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

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A version of this article appears in print on August 7, 1998, on Page A00009 of the National edition with the headline: World News Briefs; Both Afghan Factions Claim Victory in North. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe